The Saviour's Curse
by Gemma Cane
Summary: Emma always knew what she was here to do. All that mattered was that they saved Killian, that they brought him back. Now that they finally have a chance, Killian's nowhere to be found. But when Emma sets out to find him, what's she's met with breaks her world to pieces. One-Shot.


I paced nervously around the library, ignoring everyone else around me. For the thousandth time I glanced out of every window, peered down the broken streets for any sign of him. He should have been here by now. After all, we didn't have much time left.

"Emma, take it easy." My father said softly, stepping towards me slightly. "He'll be here."

I shook my head. "This isn't like him. He wouldn't just leave me waiting. Not when he knows how much is at stake here!"

"Getting yourself worked up isn't going to help you once you get down there."

I turned to face the doors of the elevator, the doors that would take us to the only thing that could save him, the only thing that could save Killian.

I sighed. "Wait here, I'm going to find him."

"I'll come with you." Charming went to follow me, but I stopped him.

I smiled slightly. "Thanks, but I'd rather do this alone. Please."

He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, smiling before backing away as I turned away from all of them and entered out onto the streets of 'Underbrooke'. I squinted against the hazy red light of the sky, making my way past the shattered clock of the tower, past the diner where just a few suffering souls were sitting. I didn't even know where to begin. Hook could be anywhere in this hell town, and I was running out of time to find him.

I checked down every street of the main town, the sheriff's station and the ice cream shop, the loft and the mayor's office, and yet there was still no sign of him. I searched the whole town, and sill nothing. So I branched out, to the graveyard, to the park...

And then I finally found him. After all the time I spent searching I should have known to come here first. If there was one place one could always expect to find a pirate, it was beside the sea. As soon as I reached the docks I saw him standing at the edge of the harbour, his back towards me, facing out towards the horizon.

"Killian!" I called, running towards him.

He turned his head. "Swan?"

"What are you doing here?" I asked, coming to stand beside him. "We were waiting for you at the library, we need to find the ambrosia, to save you - Killian?"

I stopped when I realised he had turned his face away from me.

"What is it?" I questioned, concern settling in my heart. "Hey...you can tell me."

He remained silent, his neck strained as he turned his head even further.

I took his hand, lacing my fingers through his. "Killian please, speak to me."

When he again ignored me, I reached out a hand and brought it to his cheek, gently pulling his head round to face me.

His eyes were shut tight in pain, as he leant against my hand. He released a deep sigh, his eyelids sliding open. I felt a sharp pain inside me as I saw his clear blue eyes glistening with tears.

"What's going on, Killian?" I whispered, rubbing his cheek with my thumb, feeling the coarse stubble beneath my skin.

He stared at me intensely for a moment, his eyes flicking slightly as he searched my face. I raised my eyebrows, pressing for an answer.

He sighed again. "It's just...I've been thinking that, maybe - maybe we shouldn't go through with this."

I felt as if he'd burnt me. I pulled my hand away, where it lingered in the air, torn between my feelings for him and the words he'd just spoken to me.

"What do you mean?" My voice raised slightly as something close to anger rose to the surface. "After everything we've been through, everything we've worked for, you're just going to give up now?"

"I'm not giving up on anything." He snapped suddenly back. "Let me rephrase...I don't think _I_ should go through with this."

The burns that he'd inflicted on my hand spread along my arm, the flames engulfing my heart. I had a sickening sensation of déjà vu, and I wanted nothing more than to go back to what I did best and run from the situation as though it wasn't real. We'd already had this conversation, back when Liam had arrived on our doorstep, and I definitely didn't want to have it again. The fact that the thought had even entered his mind hurt me.

"Stop it, now." I said, meeting his eyes, my voice low and my face set. "How many times do I have to tell you that we're in this together? That I can _save you_ if you'd just trust me!"

"Of course I trust you, Swan!" He yelled, taking a step away from me and dragging a hand through his dark hair. "This has nothing to do with not trusting you. I would trust you with my life, and you know it."

"So what is it then?" I asked, tensing as I began to feel my own eyes filling with tears.

"It's you, Emma." He said quietly. "It's always been you. We don't know what's down there. Anything could happen! What if it doesn't work? How do we know we can trust Hades?"

"He took our names off the headstones!" I retaliated. "Zelena's changed him, _love's_ changed him. You of all people should be able to understand that."

He lowered his head, his voice barely audible when he spoke again. "Swan, one small act of kindness doesn't change a man. Believe me, I know."

"But-"

"I've been fighting the darkness for centuries! All it took was one tiny taste of it and I was right back to the man I used to be, the man I tried so hard to destroy. For you."

"Killian, I told you, I don't care about that anymore!" I tried.

"But I still do!" He shouted. "Don't you understand? I fight with that man every minute of every day. I don't want to become him again. The only thing I have that keeps me in the light is you! Emma, you're my unfinished business. I can't move on from this torture until I know for sure that you're safe. Until I know you're back in Storybrooke with your family, where you belong!"

"So come with me." I begged, approaching him and wrapping my arms around him. "I can't let you go, not again."

He placed his right arm around my back, holding me close. "I knew you would say that." He sighed. "But I can't take that risk, not with _your_ life. I don't want to see you stuck down here. I don't want you to suffer the same fate as I have."

"I don't care about the risks! At least I'll know I died trying to save you." I cried, clutching at his leather jacket in a desperate attempt to hold him tighter.

"I can't move on until you've returned home, and I know you won't do that until you've saved me from this place." He whispered. "I don't know what else to do other than..."

He trailed off into silence, the only sound the gentle waves and our own heavy, tear choked breaths.

I looked up at him, and saw his head was turned away, his gaze drifting out to sea...drifting out to the River of Lost Souls.

Realisation dawned on me, sharp painful realisation that pierced my heart and made my chest bleed. "No...Killian, no!"

"I have to." He replied, turning back to me, tenderly caressing my cheek and wiping my tears with his thumb. "I have to know that you'll be safe. I can't move on until then."

"Please, it doesn't have to end like this. You'll lose yourself forever! This is a fate worse than death. You can't do this to yourself. You can't do this to me!"

I pulled him closer to me again, sobbing against his chest.

"Please, Emma, the last thing I want is to hurt you, but I need to do this, for your sake! I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."

"But I don't know what I'll do without you." I whispered, looking up into those beautiful eyes that I had come to trust and love so much.

"You'll carry on living." He said simply. "You'll go back home, and you'll move on with your life. You can finally settle down and have the life that I've always wanted for you, the life I've always known you deserve. You can be _happy_."

I shook my head. "How could I possibly be happy without you?"

"You'll find a way. The Emma Swan I know always does."

"But...you can still come with me. We can still have a future together-"

"Emma, we've already had more time than we were ever meant to. It's time to let go."

"I can't." I sobbed, shaking my head.

"I love you, Emma." Killian whispered into my ear, his stubble brushing my skin, sending shivers down my spine.

"I love you too."

He pressed his lips to mine, our tears running together, falling as one. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him as close as I possibly could. I never wanted the kiss to end, I just wanted to stay there forever, to never have to part from him. But all too soon he pulled away, resting his forehead against mine. We looked deep into each other's eyes. I felt more tears falling. I could get lost in those eyes, those deep swirling pools of sea blue. His hand slid from my back, and came to take mine.

"I love you." He said again. "Never forget that. Just...be happy."

He stood up straight, my head falling slightly as Killian and all the support he provided moved away. In the moment he had gotten me lost in I hardly even realised where we stood on the dock. I didn't realise that all it took was for Killian to take one small step backwards and he was falling, falling away from me, falling towards a lifetime of torment...

"Killian!" I screamed, rushing forwards and reaching out to him.

My hand came into contact with the cool metal of his hook, and held on tight.

"Hold on." I sobbed. Please, don't go."

"Emma..." He smiled, his voice strained. "It's okay. You can let go. I know you can."

I still held on, my hand frozen in a fist as I held on to him. I felt a tug at my arm, as Killian's twisted, and then I felt the force on the end of the hook lessening, as it slowly began to slip from its slot in his wrist.

"Killian, no, stop! Please!" I yelled, helplessness choking me as I watched him slip away.

"I love you, Emma-"

There was a deafening splash as he hit the water, his arms stretched out in front of him. His body sank below the surface as the souls of the river swarmed around him, there tormented screams ringing in my ears.

"No!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "No...Killian!"

I staggered away from the water's edge, holding his hook to my chest, my knuckles white from gripping it so hard.

"Emma?" A voice called.

I looked up to see my father standing on the pavement that ran past the docks.

"Oh, Emma." He sighed, running towards me and enveloping me in his warm embrace.

I was too shocked to speak, to cry. My knees trembled and then gave way, as I collapsed against David's chest, and we sank to our knees on the dock. My arms were wrapped weakly around him, and I peered over his shoulder through tear filled eyes at the curved piece of metal in my hands.

The knowledge that I would never again see his smiling face or feel his arms around me tore my heart open, bleeding out with no hope of stopping. Because I had tried to save him. I had done everything in my power to bring him back, yet I still lost him. Again. I had watched him die again, this time with no hope of ever bringing him back to me. Another name now added itself to the list. This time was _supposed_ to be different. The amount of times I'd been convinced that Killian Jones, Captain Hook, was a survivor. But no. That wasn't how life worked. Not for the 'Saviour'. Because everyone I had ever been with was dead. Graham, Neal, even Walsh. And now, so was Killian. He was dead, and all that was left was his hook. Just a piece of metal to always remind me of everything that we'd shared together. And now...everything we had lost.


End file.
